


first impressions are cheap auditions

by PhoenixGryffin



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst, Catra Has Issues (She-Ra), F/F, Implied Sexual Content, Kissing, One-Sided Attraction, Other, Pining, Shapeshifting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:00:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26313046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixGryffin/pseuds/PhoenixGryffin
Summary: “You know,” says Double Trouble in Adora’s voice, “I rather like this body. It’sfun.” They stand up in front of Catra’s desk, stretching and preening in a very un-Adora-like manner; Catra finds herself entranced despite her best efforts to look away. “So strong. Soflexible.”Or: Catra likes Adora. One day, Double Trouble looks like Adora, and Catra gets...flustered.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Catra/Double Trouble (She-Ra)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 117





	first impressions are cheap auditions

“Hey, Adora.”

The words fall from Catra’s mouth before she fully recognizes what she’s saying. For a second, Adora, at the end of the dark hallway, smiles. There’s a feeling deep down in Catra’s chest that she can’t quite name.

And then Adora’s shape changes, grows taller and thinner and teethier. It’s the damn shapeshifter. Of _course_ it is. The damn shapeshifter in question claps their hands together, evidently gleeful. Catra, who’s sitting at the desk in her new private bunk area, scowls. 

“Oh!” says Double Trouble, delighted. They look like a child with a new toy. “I _got_ you! Didn’t I? You had abso _lu_ tely no _idea–”_

“Yes I did,” snaps Catra. “ _Obviously_ it was you.”

Double Trouble smirks—for a brief second, Catra fantasizes about physically clawing the teeth out of their pretty little mouth. They come into the room, shutting the door behind them, and sit down heavily on the bed near Catra’s desk.

“Aww, poor kitten,” they say, touching Catra’s shoulder with the end of their tail. “The look on your face said it _all_.”

“It—I didn’t—get _off_ me!” Catra scowls, aggressively shoving Double Trouble’s tail off. “ _Obviously_ I knew it wasn’t her. I—I mean, why would she even be here?”

“Why indeed,” says Double Trouble, still smirking. 

“Whatever,” says Catra, returning to face all the recently-crafted Fright Zone communicators on the desk in front of her. She’d been evaluating the best ones for the job before this drama queen had showed up. “Anyway. The plan. So we’ve decided—”

“I’ll eventually be posing as a new member of the Resistance, yes,” says Double Trouble, examining their fingernails in classic diva fashion. “Pretend to be attacked by the Horde, gain their trust because they’re just _soooo_ willing to believe the best of people, et cetera. No challenge for me. I _am_ classically trained, you know.”

“Sure. Fine.” Catra doesn’t know what “classically trained” means nor does she particularly care enough to ask. “Have you…decided on a…character yet?”

Double Trouble’s eyes light up; Catra immediately regrets asking the question. Evidently excited, Double Trouble leaps to a standing position. “Oh, _yes_! I have been working _very_ hard considering it. A girl, I think—not a _princess_ necessarily, but someone who’ll fit in with them. Short, big eyes, absolutely _toooo_ adorable, the works.” Double Trouble shrinks and oscillates through a variety of cutesy-looking fairy girls. They all look so sweet, so innocent. It’s nauseating.

“Disgusting,” says Catra, grinning despite herself. “I _hate_ it. Those goody-two-shoes sparkle freaks won’t be able to resist you.”

“Oh, _won_ derful,” says Double Trouble, shooting back up to their normal height and shape. “I’m still having trouble with the overall color scheme, though—you think I should go for a pink? Or maybe a soft blue would be better—”

Catra sighs. “Look. Double Trouble. I. Don’t. Care. As long as you get them to trust you, it’s fine. I’m sure you’ll think of something. Now leave me alone, I’ve got work to do.”

Double Trouble shakes their head, tail swishing infinitesimally. “Hmmm. Tetchy, aren’t we?”

“What? No.”

“I touch a nerve back there, huh? Thought so.”

“Touched a—what? _No_!”

“Mm. Keep telling yourself that, kitten.” Double Trouble grins. Before Catra can protest, they’ve shrunk back into the size and shape of Adora again. Catra recognizes it’s Adora before Double Trouble’s form has even fully solidified—she knows Adora’s dimensions like she knows herself.

“Ha ha,” says Catra, fighting to keep her voice calm, perfectly neutral. It’s just—just Double Trouble practicing their character skills, nothing more. Doesn’t affect her. Not at all. She stares intently at the communicators; maybe if she doesn’t give the attention-hungry lizard person what they want, they’ll go away and leave her in peace.

“You kn _ow_ ,” says Double Trouble in Adora’s voice, “I rather like this body. It’s _fun_.” They stand up in front of Catra’s desk, stretching and preening in a very un-Adora-like manner; Catra finds herself entranced despite her best efforts to look away. “So strong. So _flexible_.”

“Typical,” scoffs Catra, picking up the nearest communicator and feigning interest. She’s shaking a bit, though not on purpose. “Yet another person who prefers Adora to me.”

“Aww, we _jeal_ ous?”

The teasing tone in Adora’s voice is so jarring that Catra sits up and stares despite herself.

“Don’t _do_ that,” says Catra.

“Do what?” Adora—no, _Double Trouble_ , this is just that damn shapeshifter messing with her—twirls a piece of hair around their finger, leans over the desk, widens their eyes just a bit too innocently. Their face is an inch away from Catra’s. For a second, Catra can barely breathe.

“Don’t do—that. The Adora thing. Quit it,” says Catra, waving a hand in front of them. Double Trouble-in-Adora’s-body frowns, pouting just a bit.

“Oh, I don’t know. I think there’s a _lot_ to unpack here,” says Double Trouble, effortlessly standing on their tiptoes to maneuver their way into a sitting position—right on Catra’s desk. Catra scowls, yanks all the communicator devices closer to her body and away from the pseudo-Adora now looking down at her. Watching her, Double Trouble laughs. “You’ve _clearly_ got some kind of complex about this.”

“I do _not_!”

“Hmmm,” says Double Trouble. “Classic case of denial. _Classic_. Of course, it’s what makes you so _compelling_ from an acting standpoint, but admittedly—“

“I’m not in _deni_ —you know what, forget it.” There’s a white-hot rage building up inside Catra; she can hardly stand it. She rises from the chair, knocking it over, and storms to the other side of the room. “Maybe you shouldn't go on your dumb mission after all.”

“Come on, pumpkin, you _know_ I just like to get to the bottom of my characters,” says Adora—says Double Trouble. Hearing the word _pumpkin_ from Adora’s mouth sends a shiver over Catra. “And poofy-hair here seems to bring up a lot of, ah….emotion in you.”

“Well, _obviously_! Because I hate her? And…” Catra sighs just a bit, suddenly drained. “And…she left me.”

“Mm,” says Double Trouble, crossing to the side of the room where Catra stands and positioning themself directly in front of her.

“And…look, I don’t know,” says Catra, glancing down at her claws. “It’s. I hate her. And. And—And I miss her.”

She’d never admitted that to anyone before—never, in fact, admitted it to even _herself_ until just now. Catra looks up, noticing that Adora’s gaze lingers over her, piercing in a way that the real Adora’s never had been.

“I see,” says Double Trouble. Says Adora. “Perhaps I can—ah—be of assistance there.” And suddenly Adora’s hand is on Catra’s and Catra’s face is flushed, red and awkward like they’re both teenagers again. She panics, withdraws her hand.

“I—I don’t understand—” says Catra, short of breath.

“You don’t need to,” says the being in front of her softly, as if to a lover, and now it’s Catra who’s grasping their hand like it's a lifeline, like it’s the only thing that’s ever tethered her to this version of reality. Adora moves in closer, locking eyes with Catra, and Adora’s hand is on her chin and Catra’s drowning, drowning in those blue eyes even though the back of her brain screams _it’s not real it’s not real_ —

“You can call me her name. If you want, of course.”

“Huh?” says Catra, face an inch from the still-Adora-shaped Double Trouble; the gravity of the situation hits her instantly. Panicking a bit, she extricates herself from their grasp, smoothes down her clothes reflexively. “I—look, I should _really_ get back to those communicators—”

“This time I won’t charge you anything extra,” says Double Trouble, crossing their arms and smirking at Catra. Catra shrinks just a bit.

“I didn’t—what do you mean, I just—I wasn’t—” Catra sputters, incoherent. Double Trouble chuckles dryly.

“Ooh, she’s got it _bad_ , huh?”

All Catra can do is stammer even more.

“Look, kitten,” says Double Trouble. “You won’t be the first. Or the last, I’m _sure_. Comes with the shapeshifter territory these days.” They shake their head, sighing just a bit. “Like I said, I usually charge extra for this type of thing. But hey—you’re cute. I can make an exception just this once.”

“I—“ says Catra, internally reeling from hearing Adora’s voice describe her as _cute_. Everything is happening so fast. “I—and you would…be _her_?”

“Of course.” Adora’s voice again, strangely soft in a very un-Adora manner.

“And…and you won’t tell anyone?” Catra glances downward for a split second.

Double Trouble chuckles again, this time more kindly. “Darling, if I _ever_ told anyone the things I’ve seen, the entirety of Etheria would be in _up_ roar.”

“So—”

“Your secret is safe with me,” says Double Trouble. “Promise. As is your little—ah— _crush_.”

“It’s _not_ a—” begins Catra, and then stops. There’s no point arguing with them, not anymore. “Fine. Should I—uh—I’ll go—lock the door—”

“Suit yourself,” shrugs Double Trouble, watching her go. Catra opens the door—no one outside, thankfully—shuts it hard for good measure, turns the lock shut with perhaps a bit more force than necessary. When she turns, Double Trouble is sitting on the bed again, looking for all the world like Adora. For a second, Catra lets herself be taken away—lets herself imagine a timeline where Adora came back, where it’s just the two of them against the world.

And then, of course, she comes back to reality. There’s a shapeshifter in her bed. Catra sits down next to Double Trouble somewhat awkwardly.

Double Trouble smiles, surprisingly compassionate. “Like I said, you _can_ call me Adora, you know. If that—helps.”

Catra finds her claws suddenly getting caught in the fabric of her bed. “Right. Yeah. I—uh—”

She breathes in. Unhooks her claws. Tries again. When Catra finally looks up, there’s Adora staring back at her—it’s Adora’s eyes, Adora’s face, Adora’s smile right there in front of her. Catra grins. 

“Hey, Adora.”

Adora grabs her by the shoulders; suddenly Catra’s hands are holding her face and it’s wonderful it’s perfect but _would Adora really do that? is this really how she would look when—?_ no, no, it’s perfect, Adora is here, her hair smells like grass and crushed flowers and it’s so so soft, just like old times. Catra blinks back tears, closes her eyes.

Their lips meet. 

It’s everything. 

It’s nothing.

* * *

After it’s all over, Double Trouble stands, turns back into themself, dons their clothes, and leaves without so much as a _see you tomorrow, kitten_. 

Catra lies prone on her bed, staring up at the ceiling, for the rest of the day.

**Author's Note:**

> What can I say? I'm weak for pining. 
> 
> Title is a lyric from "Intermission" by Scissor Sisters.


End file.
